This invention relates to a package air conditioner which is generally used as an air conditioner for homes and every kind of offices, and it relates to a room air circulating apparatus for compulsorily circulating room air to be a temperature control medium in a room when it is used jointly with a stove filled with fuels such as petroleum and gas.
Conventionally, a package air conditioner, through computerized controls such as a use of IC contributes greatly to improving the quality, whether a hanging type or floor type, is employed by a single circulating route form in which room air is drawn in from a particular level and either heated or cooled through a heat exchange, the heated or cooled air thereafter is directed into a room from a particular level which does not obstruct said air to be drawn in. Moreover, most apparatuses are provided with a thermistor sensor being equipped with an intake gate for controlling room temperature.
Therefore, generally speaking, the above-mentioned package air conditioner is being widely used at present and causes a great variation of temperature in different parts of a room, if it is soley employed for heating or cooling, although there is slight variance due to a setting type of an apparatus and a direction of heated or cooled air to be forced out.
The variation of temperature between the upper and lower level of a room is 10 to 20 degrees Celsius in winter and 5 to 10 degrees even in summer due to a draft effect causing warm air to mass near a ceiling level and cool air to stagnate around the floor where room air remains because of obstacles such as desks, chairs, and counters. These conditions are unfavorable for health as well as unpleasant. Furthermore, temperature to be determined is set higher or lower than necessary for providing pleasant temperature in a dwelling zone, which generates a great loss of energy leading to a rise in running cost.
The problems caused by a conventional package air conditioner (shown by A.C. in a drawing) solely employed for heating and cooling will hereinafter be described specifically based on the results of an experiment conducted by the inventor.
I. In case of heating (specification of a heating apparatus: 9,900 Kcal/h, 25 m'/min)
(1) Floor type and blast air is forced out horizontally.
Referring to FIG. 18 of a temperature distribution diagram, the temperature at the upper level in a room reaches 30.degree. C. or higher, while that of the floor level is approximately 20.degree. C., presenting the large temperature variation. The above-mentioned state results because heated air ascends while cool air descends, wherein air constantly circulates at the higher level than the middle in the room and cool air in the lower level stagnates without flowing. In addition to that, various obstacles in the room typically such as desks and chairs cause the above tendency to grow further in a real case.
(2) Floor type and blast air is forced downward at a 30.degree. angle to a horizontal plane.
Referring to FIG. 19 of a temperature distribution diagram, blast air blown to the floor results in less variation of temperature between the upper and lower levels than the first case (1) due to less air stagnation to raise the temperature of the lower level. On the contrary, referring to FIG. 20 of a temperature distribution diagram at the level 1 meter from the floor, a high temperature zone is partially produced at the center of the room, which moreover is the level of a head when a man sits on a chair. Therefore, blast air at high temperature directly blown gives an unpleasant feeling or blows papers off a desk as well as produces unfavorable conditions for ones health.
(3) Hanging type and blast air is forced horizontally.
Referring to FIG. 21 of a temperature distribution diagram, such large temperature variation as approximately 20.degree. C. between the upper and the lower levels in the room, more particularly the temperature variation is larger than the first example due to a hot air zone at the ceiling and a cold air zone near the floor.
(4) Hanging type and blast air is forced downward at a 50.degree. angle to a horizontal plane.
Referring to FIG. 22 of a temperature distribution diagram, an air current of 0.5 m/sec or higher which gives an unpleasant feeling is generated at the central part of a dwelling zone, about 1.5 m high from the floor.
In the manner as stated above, in case of heating, whether an apparatus is a floor type or a hanging type, the variation of temperature between the upper and the lower levels in the room is so great as to cause a chill near the feet of a person. When blast air is exhaled downward to improve the conditions slightly, a high temperature zone is produced partially, and inevitably problems are generated such as a person in a room to be exposed to hot air with high velocity feels unpleasant as well as the health is impaired.
II. In case of cooling.
(1) Floor type
Compared with FIG. 24A of a temperature distribution diagram at the time of directing the air upward at an angle of 30.degree. and FIG. 24B of a temperature distribution diagram at the time of directing the air horizontally, the latter produces a better effect in uniformalizing room temperature. When the forced air direction is excessively downward, however, cool air stagnates near the floor, thereafter further stagnant air lowers the temperature near the feet of a person even to the unusual extent. In addition to that, extremely cool air is prone to strike a human body, resulting in a further vicious impact on health than a case of heating. It is especially unfavorable for women.
(2) Hanging type.
Referring to FIG. 25 of a plane figure of an object room (R) and a cooling apparatus (A.C.) of a hanging type to be set so that air is forced horizontally, the distribution of room temperature is measured at each cross sections of X--X, Y--Y, and Z--Z with distribution diagrams shown by FIG. 26 A, B and C. In this case, both intake gates of the room air and outwardly directed blast air being located near the ceiling permit high temperature air at the upper level to be cooled by the heat exchange, which results in a draft effect due to the fact that cool air descends naturally. Therefore, the temperature variation in the room is as ideal as approximately 1.degree. C. at any part. The downward direction for the forced air, however, is desirable to promote a cooling effect in a dwelling zone where blast air (cool air) directly hits. Therefore, the temperature variation and a cooling effect in a dwelling zone contradict each other.
In the manner as stated above, in case of cooling, blast air is blown either horizontally or upward to cool from the upper level, which results in a more uniform distribution of room temperature. A disadvantage, however, in respect of health caused by the lower half of a body to be cooled too much, hinders a quick cooling and improvement of a cooling effect in a dwelling zone.
The above-mentioned problem caused by the prior art of heating and cooling are hereinafter summarized:
(a) Temperature variation between the upper and the lower levels in a room is too great, especially in case of heating.
(b) Blast air which is extremely hot or cool directly hits a human body then may give unpleasant feeling and injure health.
(c) Blast air, passing a human body with high velocity, further increases unpleasant feeling and vicious impact on health.
In case of heating by means of a stove which is another heating apparatus, according to partial heating of a room due to heat radiation and natural convention, a whole room is not heated up easily while it is sufficiently warm around a stove.
Although there is another type of a stove for directing warm air into a room such as a warm air heater with a forced blowing system or a fan heater, temperature cannot rise high enough in the corner of a room because of generally insufficient amount of air, which results in inferior distribution of temperature in a room compared with that of said package air conditioner and far from pleasant heating.